Here’s the report
The Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation spent at least $10.2 million on costs associated with cannabis stores that never opened, the agency’s financial statements show.
The agency spent $1.2 million on leases and lease terminations and $8.9 million on writing off equipment and renovation costs for the stores, the statements say.
It’s known that the OCRC had hired a number of store managers and was in the process of hiring front-line sales staff for the stores.
Ontario’s shift to a private-sector system came in the leadup to legalization, in mid-August of 2018. The previous Liberal government had planned a network of government-owned stores similar to the province’s liquor stores.
At the time of the announcement, four stores had been leased and renovation work was going on. Randstad, a Montreal-based HR agency, was interviewing applicants to work in a store network beyond the original four stores, people applying for the positions told Global News at the time.
Financial Statements
ocrc-2018-19-audited-financial-statements-eng